The past never dies
by Oliver
Summary: Set after season 4 for Buffy 1 for Angel Buffy runs to LA to help Angel but she has a big surprise waiting for her in the form of a vampire she knows all too well.


The Past Never Dies  
By Tommy Darpino  
June 8th, 2001  
Disclaimer: Buffy & Angel Series belong to Joss Whedon  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"Oh great. The psych test is today!" Buffy Summers cried, as she finished her lunch with her best friend, Willow Rosenberg, in the U.C. Sunnydale cafe. "What am I gonna do?"  
"Don't worry, Buffy." Willow said, sitting on the other side of the lunch table sipping from a Coke can. "We can study for it back at the dorm, after lunch."  
"Really? You'd do that for me."  
"Of course. What are friends for?" Willow replied matter-of-factly.  
"Thanks, Will," she said pushing back her long, curly, blond hair, and taking a deep breath. "I had to patrol, and then check in with Giles. Had no time to study," Buffy told Willow.  
"Don't worry, we're on top of it". Willow replied, crushing the now empty Coke can. "So how was patrolling, anyway?"  
"Oh, same old," Buffy said rolling her eyes. Sometimes she just hated being the Slayer, the one girl in all the world who could stop the forces of evil. "Only thing is, I think I staked a guy I used to date, back in LA."  
"That must have been gross. Anyway, it's almost one, we'd better go start cramming."  
"I think I would have been better off with the demons." Buffy said as they got up to go to the dorm.  
  
  
Later that night, Buffy and Willow met the rest of the gang - Xander Hariss, his ex-demon girlfriend Anya, Buffy's ex-demon-hunter boyfriend Riley Finn, Buffy's Watcher Giles, and Willow's girlfriend Tara who, like Willow, was a witch - at Giles's apartment, all seated around his living room. They were all there to discuss Sharp Fangs. He was called that because it was said that he sharpened his fangs with knives. He was the new head vampire in town, and causing all kinds of trouble.  
"Did he show last night, Buffy?" Giles asked.  
"No such luck. We'll patrol some more tonight." Riley said sternly.  
"That we will." Buffy said smiling at her boyfriend.  
"Willow and I can research." Tara suggested.  
"Well is there anything Xander and I have to do?" Anya asked. "Because if not we'd like to go home and have some more of our sex games."   
"Anya!" Xander cried, "Look I know this whole humanity thing is new to you, but sex is something you keep private."  
"I know, but you do this thing in the tub where you...."  
"Anya!!" Xander cut her off.  
"All right, you two." Giles proclaimed, "And no, we will not be needing your help."  
"Good" Anya smiled, and Xander rolled his eyes. Just then the phone rang. Giles picked up.  
"Hello? ... Yes, she's here, hold on. For you, Buffy." She took the phone.  
"Hello? Oh God." Buffy whispered. "I'll be there as soon as I can."  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"Did she take the bait?" Holland Manners asked from the big leather chair behind his desk in his office. He was head of the junior department at Wolfermen & Hart, a law firm specializing in the 'darker side' of Los Angeles. He had his back to the door, and he was looking out at the LA night sky.  
"Yes sir." His assistant Lindsey McDonald told him. "The Slayer should be on her way here right now."   
"And you believe she'll come?"  
"Oh, yes sir, you should have heard the worry in her voice when I told her."  
"And you trust the drug you made, Dr. Stallworth, will make Angel believe he is happy?"  
"Yes sir, it will. All you have to do is get the vampire here."  
"Oh you mustn't worry about that. We'll get him here."  
"And I will get all my data, as promised?" Dr. Stallworth asked.  
"As promised." Holland replied.  
"You know what this means, Lindsey?"  
"What's that, Mr. Manners?"  
"We either get Angel evil permanently, or dead."  
"I'm sure the senior partners will be very pleased." Holland said turning around in his chair and smiling at the two men.  
  
  
Angel sat on the sofa in Cordelia Chase's apartment, which was serving as his headquarters because his place had been blown up by Wolfermen & Hart. He was at that very moment begging Cordelia to get a vision of someone in trouble.  
"Could you please try to get a vision?"  
"Look pal, if you want me to get a vision, go talk to the PTB, I on the other hand am not complaining, you know why?"  
"Wh-" Angel began, but was cut off.  
"Because the visions hurt like Hell!!! But do you care? No! You just want to save everyone."  
"Well... Cordelia," Angel cut her off. "I..."  
"You had to say something!" she cried falling to the floor having a vision.  
"Wesley!" Angel yelled to his partner, "Cordy's having a vision!"  
"What did you see?" Wes asked her when the vision ended.  
"Wolfermen & Hart. They've got a girl, kidnapped her, third floor. They're planning on killing her."  
"I'm on it" Angel said.  
"Want some help?" Wesley asked him.  
"I got this one, " he said as he walked out the door of the apartment.  
  
  
Angel was walking around the Wolfermen & Hart building, looking for a way in. He knew they had the best security system money could buy. Then it came to him. The ventilation shaft, that was his ticket in. The vampire climbed up to the roof of the Wolfermen & Hart building, looked around, and slipped into the shafts. Almost too easy, he thought. Once the demon was over the third floor, he dropped into the room, right in front of the kidnapped woman. "Don't worry" he whispered. "I'm here to help."  
"No." The woman tried to say, but tape over her mouth stopped her.  
"Wh-" Angel started, but at that moment, a black man in a white lab coat came up behind him and stabbed him in the neck with a needle. Angel fell to the floor motionless.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"What did they say, Buffy?" Giles asked her, from his living room as she put the phone down in the kitchen and walked into the living room to face her friends.  
"It's Angel. He's hurt. I have to go to LA."  
"Is there anything we can do?" Willow asked concerned.  
"No. You guys just stay here, and hold down the fort."  
"Did they say what happened to Dead Boy?" Xander asked, sitting on a chair.  
"No."  
"I'll come with you." Riley said from his spot behind the sofa.  
"No, Riley," Buffy said going to stand in front of him. "I need you to stay here and keep an eye on Sharp Fangs. You're the only one with a half chance of fighting him and living."  
"Fair enough. May I speak to you outside for a minute, Buffy?" Riley asked.  
"Sure."   
"I don't want you to go, Buffy." Riley stated when they were outside.  
"Riley, I have to go. Angel was a good friend."  
"Yeah, a good boyfriend." he said sarcastically.  
"Riley! Stop it! We've talked about Angel, and you know how much I loved him! But you also know how much I love you."  
"I know, Buffy, but I still don't want you to go, and if you go I want to come with you." Riley said putting a hand on her shoulder.  
"What about Sharp Fangs, Riley? What if he kills Giles and all our friends while we're gone? I'm going, you're staying, that's final." Buffy said as she stormed off, leaving her boyfriend standing there stunned.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"We have the vampire, sir." Lindsey reported to his boss as he stepped into the room.  
"Excellent work, Lindsey. Now all we have to do is wait for the drug to take effect, and for the Slayer to arrive."  
"I'll let you know when she arrives, sir."  
"Thank you." Holland said as Lindsey left his office. "Now I just have one more lose end to tie up," he said as he picked up the phone on his desk, and dialed a number. "Yes Mr. Fangs? ... I trust you'll keep Miss Summer's friends busy while we run the experiment?"  
"I'll keep em' busy, you damn lawyer. You just better keep up your part of the deal, eh?"  
"Oh, you'll have your money by nightfall, I assure you" Holland said, as he hung up the phone.  
  
  
On the drive to Wolfermen & Hart, Buffy thought about everything that had happened between her and Angel. The first thing that came to mind was the first time he had kissed her, after they had been chased by The Three. That was also the night she found out that he was a vampire, and that was cursed by gypsies and given back his soul. But what neither of them knew about the curse was that if Angel got one moment of true happiness his soul would be taken from him.  
That moment of true happiness came on Buffy's seventeenth birthday when they had made love. Afterwards Angel had turned evil, into Angelus. His demon side had been set free. He had done lots of terrible things including kill the good witch, Miss Calender. Giles had almost gotten himself killed going after Angel alone when he learned of her death.  
Buffy recalled the pain she had felt when she stabbed Angel in the chest, sending him to Hell right after Willow had given him back his soul, just so that the door to Hell that Angelus had opened would close.  
She remembered the joy she had felt when he had been brought back, and then the pain she felt when he left town after Graduation. "God, I hope he's all right" she whispered, as she pulled up in front of the Wolfermen & Hart office.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"Buffy's left." Riley said as he came back into Giles's apartment.  
"Boy, I hope Angel's gonna be ok." Willow said, the worry clear on her face.  
"Yes, well," Giles proclaimed, "I think we should get back to work. Willow and Tara, you two stay here and try to help me figure out how to find Sharp Fangs." They both nodded. "Riley, Xander, and Anya, go patrol, and see what you can find."  
"Hey! I thought you didn't need our help!"  
"Anya, things are different now." Xander told her.   
"We'll check in ASAP, Giles." Riley said as they left.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"Miss Summers," a man with brown hair, an all white smile, and black suit greeted her as she walked in. "I'm Lindsey McDonald."  
"Hello," Buffy said, "how's Angel?"  
"He's actually doing better."  
"May I see him?"  
"Of course, right this way," the man said, smiling.  
  
  
"Rise and shine, Angelus!" Dr. Stallworth proclaimed as he walked in with two guards carrying wooden stakes. Angel raised his head, still somewhat out of it from the drugs. "I suggest you don't fight us, vampire." The doctor said from the doorway of the holding cell.   
"Not a chance," Angel said, barley able to stand, using the wall as support. The guards came at him in an instant. Angel threw a wild punch at the one guard's head, still trying to use the wall for support. The guard ducked and punched him hard in the ribs, doubling him over. The other hit him on the head with both fists. Angel fell to the floor, almost knocked out. The guards went on either side of him, and stood him up.  
"Let's go, Angel. Time to go meet your girl," Dr. Stallworth said leading them out of the holding cell.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"ANGEL! ANGEL!! ANGEL!" Riley Finn yelled as he continued to beat the heck out of a vampire in the graveyard.  
"Yo G.I. Joe! Stake the thing already. And news flash, he's not Angel." Xander called to him.  
"I know," he said as he staked the demon. "But I can't help it. I hate him so much."  
"I hear you, man," Xander said standing next to him.  
"What does Buffy see in him anyway?"  
"I don't know," Anya said coming up behind them. "Maybe his face, his hair? Or hey wait, maybe how he is in bed."  
"Anya, you're not helping." Xander told her.  
"Sorry."  
"I got to do something." Riley said pacing around the graveyard. "I have to do something to show her I'm better then Angel."  
"Like what?" Xander asked him.  
"I got it! I'm gonna take down Sharp Fangs."  
"Looking for me, eh?" someone said from behind them. They all turned to see who it was.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"So where's Angel?" Buffy asked, as they entered Holland Manners' office.  
"Miss Summers, I don't believe we've met. I'm Holland Manners."  
"Hi" Buffy said, as he came around his desk to shake her hand. "Who are you people?" she asked, confused.  
"We're friends of Angel's."  
"Speaking of Angel, were is he?"  
"Actually he should be coming in here any second."  
"Is he badly hurt?"  
"No, but I think you'll find he's had a change of heart." Holland said, giving an evil smile.  
  
  
Angel came into the room, escorted by the two guards, still sore from the fight in the holding cell. "Here he is now." he heard Holland say. When he saw Buffy, he couldn't believe his eyes. "Buffy?" Angel exclaimed somewhat stunned. But before she could respond, a horrible ripping at his chest caused Angel to fall to the floor, in pain that made his head spin. Not again, he thought. Angel realized that he was losing his soul.  
"Angel!" Buffy cried, running to his side "What's wrong?"  
"Oh, don't worry, Angel's just losing his soul." Dr. Stallworth told her.  
"WHAT? Who are you people? What the Hell did you do to him?"  
"Don't worry, Buffy." Holland told her. "All we're doing is a little experiment, and if you don't do as we tell you, we'll kill Angel. Or should I say Angelus right now."  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"Sharp Fangs, I presume?" Riley asked staring at the muscular vampire with dark black hair, menacing yellow eyes, and fangs that looked like they could go through solid steel.  
"So you've heard of me, eh? Not bad for a Hoagan's Heroes reject." Sharp Fangs said, giving Riley an evil grin and looking over his army fatigues.  
"You won't be grinning when I'm done with you!" Riley threatened, "Let's go, you and me, one on one, right now!" He yelled, holding a stake in hand.  
"Ha! You, a mere mortal, take me on, and live? It's your death wish."  
They came at each other. Riley hit him in the face with a left hook that hardly fazed him. The demon came back with a hard right punch to the young man's face, which caused blood to spurt from his nose. Riley then came at him trying to tackle him like one of the Eagles linebackers. However he did not get enough momentum on the vampire so Sharp Fangs gave Riley a hard two-fisted punch to the back, causing him to fall to the ground on his stomach and drop his stake. "Looks like I'm kickin' your ass, M.A.S.H. boy, eh?" the demon spat at him. Riley raised his head, and said "Go to hell, you bastard." The demon growled and, put his hands on Riley's head and was about to pop it like a grape. Just then Xander fired a bolt from the crossbow that hit the demon in the side, "Damn!" The demon yelled as he fell to the ground. "Come on!" They said to Riley as they helped him up, and the three ran out of the graveyard.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"What do you mean, what kind of experiment?" Buffy asked, standing by Angel's form. He was still crouched in pain.  
"Oh it's quite simple really." Holland replied, "We move the two of you to Dr. Stallworth's lab, then you will fight to the death, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Just you, Angel, a big locked room, and a sword for each of you."  
"And if I refuse?"  
"Then we kill Angel right now."  
Just then Angelus stood up slowly, and turned to his soul's lover, in full vampire face. "Well if it isn't little Miss Buffy Ann Summers. How the hell are you? You know I never really repaid you for sending me to hell."  
"Angel, no." Buffy said holding back tears. "I can't kill you, I just can't."  
"Funny, 'cause I could kill you in a heartbeat, Slayer" Angel retorted.  
"Oh you will get your chance, Angelus," the head of the law firm spoke for the first time since the demon had returned. Angel turned, and laid his yellow vampire eyes on the lawyer.  
"Holland Manners, my soul always wanted to kill you, now I want to hug you" he said giving a grin that said he was one insane vampire.  
"Hold on!" Buffy spoke up angry. "The only way for Angel to go evil, is if he gets to be truly happy!"  
"Yes we know, that's why we had a drug made to make Angel think that he's happy. Now you two better get a move on. You've got a long night and day ahead of you."  
"I'll kill you for this!" Buffy cried as two guards escorted them out of the office and to an armored car.  
"Not if I kill you first," Angel said, giving her an evil glare, his face back in human form.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
"Man!" the Watcher cried, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose in disgust. The man, who was well into his forties, had been Buffy's Watcher for four years now. At first her unorthodox style of Slaying had perplexed Giles. But over time he had grown to have a father's love for the young woman. He had even been fired officially as Buffy's Watcher because of that fatherly love for her, but despite protest from the Council of Watchers Rupert Giles remained her unofficial Watcher after Buffy quit the Council.  
Right now he was angry because he could not find one mention of Sharp Fangs in his books.  
"No luck, Giles?" Willow asked from her laptop.  
"I'm afraid not, I just wish there was something we could find about....."  
"Sharp Fangs!" Xander yelled from the doorway, he and Anya still supporting Riley on either side of him.  
"My God! What happened?" Giles asked, as Anya and Xander helped Riley to the sofa.  
"I'll get you some ice for your nose." Tara said, heading to the freezer.  
"What happened?" Giles asked Riley sitting next to him.  
"We ran into Sharp Fangs in the graveyard. He was strong, but I handled it." he said as Tara handed him a pack of ice.   
"No offence man," Xander said "but he kicked your ass."  
"It would appear that way, yes." Giles agreed. "I think we should go get Spike."  
"No! We're not getting Spike!" Riley yelled.  
"Excuse me young man, but first off you may be used to calling the shots where the government is sitting, however around here that's not how it works. When Buffy is not around I call things around here. Finally this demon damn near killed you from the looks of you, and I say that without the Slayer here we need backup. Are we clear?" The young man nodded, scared to death of the look Giles was giving him.  
The Watcher turned to Willow. "Willow, here's fifty dollars. Go find Spike, and tell him what's going on." She nodded took the money, and went to find Spike.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"Everyone out!" Dr. Stallworth cried as he unlocked the back of the armored car outside of Stallworth Labs.  
"How can you do this?" Buffy asked, getting out of the car. "There have got to be laws saying you can't kidnap people and put them in a fight to the death. This isn't Roman times." She said sarcastically , her hands chained behind her back.  
"Oh would you quit whining. The first thing I'm going to do when we get in there is cut off your mouth." Angel taunted her.  
"Take them to room 14-B." The doctor told his guards, as they walked into his lab.  
"Wait!" Buffy yelled as they tried to drag her down the hall. "Why are you doing this? What do you get out of this?"  
"The data to save a life." he called back as they took Buffy, with Angel in tow.   
When they entered the room Buffy surveyed her surroundings. The room was surprisingly large, and there were no windows except for a big observation window about 10 or 20 feet up. No way to climb that, Buffy thought. She could see Dr. Stallworth up there watching them. "Take off their restraints," he called to his men, "And don't even bother with the door, Slayer. It's made of solid steel and enchanted by a sorcerer." He spoke over a loudspeaker in the observation tower. The guards took off the chains, and Angel went to one end of the room and turned to face Buffy.  
"Well I guess this is it, huh Buff. Our last big battle."  
"I can't kill you." she said as a guard handed her a long sword. "Even though I promised Angel I would if you ever came back, I can't."  
"Well," Angelus replied as he was handed a sword of his own. "Lucky for you, or not so lucky for you, I can kill you and enjoy it, Slayer." Angel said coldly.  
"Hey, I said I wouldn't kill you, I never said I wouldn't kick your ass." Buffy said, her sword at the ready.   
"This will be fun." he said coldly, his sword also at the ready.  
Their swords clashed, him swinging right, her swinging left. It was clear they were evenly matched. Their swords clashed again, and they both stared at each other, Angel in full vamp. face. "You've gotten better at this than last time, only this time you don't have Willow to bring your boy back."  
"This time I don't need Willow." Buffy said giving him a hard front kick to the chest. He fell back, stunned, but quickly regained his balance. This time Buffy wasn't ready for him as he swung the blade in a V, and cut her wrist. "Ow!" Buffy cried, falling to her knees, one hand still holding her weapon, blood slowly oozing out of the other wrist.  
"But I'm still better." Angel spat at her, standing over her, his sword at his side. Buffy did a back roll, and then a handspring. Now standing in front of him she said, "I don't think so," giving him a spin kick to his face. Then she spun, punching him in the arm, causing him to drop his weapon. She then went in, slamming him into the wall and pinning him to it holding him by his neck.   
"I lied. Time to die, Angelus."  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
Willow walked into the Bronze, the local teen hang out in Sunnydale, looking for Spike, the British vampire who had had a chip put in his brain by government demon hunters. Now every time he went to feed off someone Spike got shocks of electricity to his brain. Willow spotted the blonde haired demon by a pool table having a smoke.  
"Hey Red." he called as she approached, "How's the Scooby Gang doing these days? Need help taking down the current nasty in the Hellmouth?"  
"As a matter of fact, yes" she replied sweetly. "Here's fifty bucks." She said handing him the money.  
"Thanks" he said taking the money, and taking a puff of his smoke. "So what's up?" he asked, blowing smoke into her face.  
"We need help dusting Sharp Fangs. He almost killed Riley." she responded, coughing.  
"I see. What about the Slayer? Why can't she back up her boy toy?"   
"Buffy went to LA to help Angel."   
"Oh so Buffy ran to Soul Boy eh? When will old Solider Boy learn she don't love him?"  
"Yeah well, will you help us or not?" Willow asked, annoyed.  
"Sure. Tell old Rupert I'll take the fifty, and a month's supply of pig's blood."  
"I will."  
"I'll do some recon and meet you back at The Watcher's."  
"Ok." Willow said as he left the Bronze.  
  
  
Spike went to an old condemned bar that used to be named The Dive-In. It had been closed down in the early 80's, and he knew he had found Sharp Fangs' hideout. As Spike approached the old building with a burned out neon sign and boards on the windows, he knew he had the perfect plan.  
"Sharp Fangs, old pal!" Spike exclaimed as he walked into the demon's lair with a grin on his face.   
"Do we let him in boss?" Two of the vampire's men asked, holding a stake to Spike's chest. "Yes, of course, you fools! Spike here is an old friend!"  
"Love what you've done with the place, mate," Spike said as they released him.   
"Thanks man. So what brings ya to my place?" The head vampire asked, sitting on an old torn easy chair in the center of the room. He put down the knife he'd been using to sharpen his fangs. "Word on the street is some government guys had ya neutered."  
"Much to my dismay, mate, it's true."  
"Sure not the same Spike who took out two Slayers. Would you like a smoke?" Sharp Fangs offered.  
"Yeah, thanks mate." Spike replied, taking the cigarette and lighting it. "So I heard you've been after the Slayer, Fangs, and beat the hell out of her boy toy."  
"Yeah, I showed the punk what a real vampire can do" he replied. "But I ain't after the Slayer, I'm just keepin' her friends busy is all."  
"Oh really mind telling me who is?" Spike asked, putting out his smoke.  
"Some law firm in Los Angeles, they made a drug to make that traitor Angelus think he's happy. They're hoping he'll rape her so the curse is lifted for real, then kill her."  
"Well it's about time someone got that bloody Slayer and Angel off our backs!" Spike exclaimed, "Hey, thanks for the smoke mate" he said getting ready to leave.  
"Hey any time mate, you need anything let me know, eh?"  
"I will," he said as he turned to leave. Bloody hell, Spike thought as he walked out the door, he had to get back to Giles ASAP. This was a matter of life or death.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"So how are the two lab-rats holding up?" Holland asked, coming up behind the doctor in the observation tower.   
"They're doing fine. They've been at it for 15 or 20 minutes." The man replied, "I don't think he has the idea to rape her yet."  
"All is well." Holland said. "If he loses, Buffy will kill him. Either way we get Angel off the firm's back."   
"What time is it?" Dr. Stallworth asked the gray haired man.  
"11:30."  
"Man!" The younger man exclaimed "I've got to get to the hospital, Tim" he said to one of his guards. "Watch them. Page me if something happens." Tim nodded. "Oh, and Holland, when do I get my data?"  
"When Angel is evil, or dead."   
"What!" Dr. Stallworth exclaimed, "That was not part of the deal. You have what you want, now give me what I want! Time is running out!" he shouted angrily.  
"That's not my problem," Holland said harshly.   
"You son of a bitch!" Dr. Stallworth yelled going up to Holland and punching him hard in the face. Holland fell back, rubbing his cheek that would surely bruise in the morning.   
"I'd be careful, doctor." the lawyer said, an angry expression on his face. "I'm part of the most powerful law firm in Los Angeles. I can have you killed like that." he said snapping his fingers. Dr. Stallworth just glared, and left for the hospital.  
  
  
"You sure you can do that, Buff?" Angel asked still pinned against the wall, his face melting back to human form. "Kill the first man you ever loved? The man who still loves you every moment of every day? Oh believe me he does, but you've moved on, haven't you, with your commando boy. You know, to the naked eye it looks like you've gone and forgotten all about our boy Angel." The demon saw the hurt expression in Buffy's eyes, and moved in for the kill. "And one more thing before you drive that thing in my heart and turn me to dust. Something I wanted you to know, I liked having to comfort Faith when she came to LA. Of course my soul would never admit it, but he did. 'Cause let's face it. Faith's better looking then you, she's more fun, and one more thing about Faith," Angel said, getting Buffy very angry, and hurt at the same time. "She's a better fighter." he said, kneeing her in the crotch and causing her to double over.  
Angel then delivered a spinning side kick to Buffy's face that made her fall back, landing on her side. Her sword landed about two or three feet away from her. Buffy quickly recovered from the blow and launched for her weapon. Just as her hand wrapped around the handle of it, Angelus's foot came down hard on her wrist. "Ah Ah." Buffy moaned softly as the pressure on her wrist increased, and she heard bone start to crack and pop. "Sorry, Buffy, this is the end of the line." Angel said as he raised his sword, which he had retrieved after kicking Buffy in the face, over his head.  
"No way." She said, swinging her foot around in a half circle and knocking his legs out from under him at the last moment. The demon landed hard face first on the tile floor. With cat like reflexes the Slayer was right there on her opponent. She rolled him onto his back, and slammed the back of his head into the floor, then was on top of him, holding the point of her sword at his throat, digging it in slightly.  
"Now let's get a few things clear." Buffy said her eyes burning with fury, "One, I am, always have been, and always will be better then Faith! Two, I know Angel loves me, and I love him, that's the one thing I'm most sure of in life! Three I don't love Riley the way I love Angel; I try to lie to myself and say I do, but if I'm really honest with myself I don't love him, and probably never will." Buffy said the very last part softly with some tears in her eyes. Angelus saw this, and for a fleeting moment felt a pang of sorrow and sympathy for the young Slayer. She had been through a lot for a nineteen-year-old girl. She had lost many friends even the first man she had ever loved, and probably always would love. Hell, she had even died when she was sixteen. If only for a minute it still happened. Perhaps the worst thing for Angelus, though, as he watched Buffy crying, was that he knew that he and Angel, though not purposely, had caused a lot of that pain. Perhaps worst of all was that he knew she would lose more as she went through life. It would never be over. Buffy would always lose more, even more then most people because she was the Slayer.  
"Now." Buffy said getting herself together after a few seconds "Here's my plan, will you listen?"  
"Well seeing as how you've got that sword pointed at, and digging rather painfully into, my throat, I don't think I have much choice, Slayer." he said as Buffy began telling him her plan.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
Giles paced around his living room, getting more and more worried with each passing moment. It was almost midnight, and his Slayer had gone almost eight hours now without checking in and letting them know how things were with Angel. That was not like Buffy. Granted the vampire with a soul was not Giles's most favorite undead person in the world. Angelus had killed Jenny Calander, the only woman Rupert Giles had ever loved, and he was still a little sore about that. But Angel had on many different times shown that he did, and always would, love Buffy, and for that he would always be grateful. Also Giles did not for the life of him want to see what his Slayer, a girl who was like a daughter to him, would go through if something happened to Angel. For he recalled all too well what Buffy did after she sent him to Hell. She had run away to Los Angeles for three months, and no one had known where she was. He had been up every night worried sick about her. God, he hoped they were all right for Buffy's sake and his own.   
To make matters worse it had been almost four hours since Willow had gone to find Spike. "Something's very wrong" he proclaimed, still pacing, the others sitting on and around the sofa. "Buffy should have called by now, and we should have heard something from Spike as well."  
"I'm sure Buffy's fine, Giles, I mean she's slay gal" Xander said sitting next to Anya.  
"I just hope her and Angel don't do it in LA, and then him kill her, and then all of us." Xander's girlfriend said. Everyone just glared at her. "What?!" she exclaimed as everybody continued to glare at her.  
"Well I'm not so sure she's all right" Riley said changing the subject. "Giles is right it's been too long since Buffy's checked in. Slayer or not I think she's in trouble."  
"Open up! Bloody Hell! Open Up!" Someone yelled from outside the door. Giles went to answer it.   
"Spike!" Giles exclaimed, "come in! Did you find Sharp Fangs' hideout?" The old man asked, as the vampire with a chip in his head entered his home.   
"Oh yeah, but trust me mate you've got bigger problems." Spike said standing in front of the group. "Buffy's in LA having a fight to the death with Angelus. Some law firm lured her there, and drugged Angel to make him think he's happy. There hopen' he'll rape her, go evil for good, then kill her. Fangs was paid off to keep you all busy."  
"Oh my God, we're all gonna die!" Anya screamed.  
"Anya, do calm down. No one is going to die." Giles told her, even though he was even more worried than before. No wonder Buffy had not called.   
"Do you know where they took them?" Willow asked Spike. He shook his head.  
"I always said you couldn't trust lawyers." Xander said sitting next to Anya.  
"How bout the name of the law firm?" Tara asked him.  
"Not a clue."  
"I'm going to LA." Riley stated, the fury clear in his eyes.   
"I don't think that's a good idea mate." Spike said going to stand in front of Riley.   
"You think I care what you think?" he replied.   
"Look mate, all I'm tryin' to do is save your ass a lot of trouble is all."  
"My girl's out there. It won't be any trouble for me at all."  
"Look, you think if you go there you can find her? It'll be like searching for a needle in a haystack, for Christ sake! And even if you did find them, you think you would stand a chance against Angelus? That vampire was the bloody Siege of Europe! You'd be dead like that!" and the vampire snapped his fingers.  
"Who asked you?" Riley said grabbing the front of Spike's black shirt.  
"Boys!" Giles exploded. "Enough! Now, Riley as much as I hate to say it Spike's right. It would not be good for anyone for you to go off half cocked and get yourself killed. Now let me call Cordelia and Wesley in LA, and get more information." Riley slammed his fist into a nearby table clearly pissed. Spike smirked at him knowingly.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
Steven Stallworth stood in the doorway to a hospital room. He was tall and skinny with dark black hair, light brown skin, and catlike green eyes.  
For a long while he just stood there watching her, dealing with the undeniable feeling of helplessness that washed over him every time he went there. The feelings of guilt, sorrow, anger, and fear that had haunted him ever since that fateful day his wife discovered the lump in her breast and been told she had breast cancer.  
As he moved into the room, his eyes fell on his sick soul mate. When they had first met Nadine had had black curly hair that reminded him of a raven. Steven remembered how the wind had thrown her hair about on the cruise they had taken on their honeymoon. Now there was nothing left of that raven black hair, just a bald skull where that hair should have been. Her skin back then had been very smooth and well toned. Now Nadine's skin as well as the rest of her body was very frail and weak. It pained Steven to see his wife this way. She was always so full of life, always cleaning, or shopping, or going to some social event. Now it was like the cancer had sucked all the life completely out of her.   
Steven took his wife's hand, and kissed it softly, and tenderly. "Oh Nadine, how are you feeling today?" her husband whispered softly. He knew she would not answer. The cancer had spread fast. Nadine had been in the hospital for six months now. After his wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer, Steven had devoted his life to finding a cure for it, and then when he finally achieved his goal he had been forced to make a deal with that snake in the grass Holland Manners.  
At first he had flat out refused, but that all changed one afternoon when he had went into his office, found it a mess, and found Holland sitting behind his desk.   
"What the hell are you doing here, and what did you do to my office! I've told you I won't make that drug for you. Leave me alone!"  
"Hello Steven," the man had said, with no feeling in his voice. "I've heard that your wife has fallen ill. I'm very sorry to hear that. Now I have an offer you can't refuse. My law firm Wolfermen & Heart has taken the data that will save your wife. If you make the drug you will get it back. If you don't, we will destroy it."  
"What!" The doctor had exclaimed, "You can't do that! It's against the law!"  
"We are the law in Los Angeles, Dr. Stallworth." Holland had said giving an evil grin.  
After that encounter Steven believed he had no choice. It was the only way to save his wife. So he made the drug, studied the records the law firm had on Buffy and Angel, and did as he was told. However, sitting by his lover's bedside, he realized he might have made a bad decision. Of course he didn't want Nadine to die, but from what he had read on the vampire and the Slayer they did not seem like people who deserved what they were going through. And the more time he spent around Holland the less honest of a man he seemed. He thought about what his wife would tell him to do in this situation , and he realized what that was.  
"Yes, Nadine. I am going to do the right thing, no matter the cost. I love you." Steve whispered, softly stroking her hand, and kissing the top of her head.  
  
  
"Hello." Wesley Windom Price said as he picked up the phone in Cordelia's apartment.  
"Yes Wesley, hello." Giles said on the other line of the phone.   
"Why Mr. Giles how are you? What may I do for you, is everything all right in Sunnydale?"   
"Um, actually no. Is Angel around?" The Watcher asked his countryman.   
"No, he's on a case, why? What would Angel have to do with what's going on in Sunnydale, is Buffy all right?"  
"Um, no. Listen, do you know what case he was working on?" Giles asked.   
"Yes, he went to rescue a kidnapped woman from Wolfermen & Hart."  
"I see" Giles replied, "and what kind of demon may I ask is a Wolfermen Hart?"   
"It's not a demon, it's a law firm." Wesley told him.   
"Aha!" Giles exclaimed.   
"Mr. Giles I would please ask that you explain what's going on, because you are making very little sense."  
Giles filled him in on what they knew.  
"Oh dear. Are you certain?"  
"Quite." Rupert said into the phone.  
"Oh dear. We'll get right on it, thank you Mr. Giles."  
"Your welcome, we'll send someone to help right now."  
"Thanks." Giles said, and hung up.  
Wesley put the phone down, and turned to Cordelia, who was sitting on a chair.  
"What?" she asked, "What's going on in the Hellmouth? I know it has to be big for them to call here."  
Wesley filled her in on the situation.  
"What? Angel's evil again? What do we do now?"   
"We have to figure out where they took Angel and Buffy. I think the first place to look would be the law firm"  
"Then what?"  
"We'll figure it out on the way, let's go!" They both left quickly to look for Buffy and Angel.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
The old man put the phone down, and turned to face the others. "I talked to Wesley. The name of the law firm is Wolfermen & Heart. He and Cordelia are looking for them as we speak. I said we would send help right away."  
"I'm going." Riley said as he pulled on his army jacket.   
"Hold on there big fella," Xander said, standing in front of him. "I think we should talk this out some more before you go and get yourself killed."   
"Buffy's in danger! I don't have time for this!" Buffy's boyfriend exclaimed.   
"Hey, chill out Riley. I agree with Xander, and I'm not saying that because I won't get any later if I don't. I don't think you should go alone." Anya told him. He glared hard at her.  
"I think Riley is the best suited for helping in LA out of all of us" Giles spoke up. "There's not much any of us would be able to do to help there, and unfortunately, because of the sunrise soon, Spike is in the same boat as us." Spike nodded.  
"Well I think Tara and I should go." Willow said, " We could do a finder's spell to find were the law firm took Buffy and Angel!"  
"You could do that here!" someone yelled back. They all started yelling at once.   
"Yo!" Spike exclaimed. They all ignored him, and continued yelling. "What about Fangs, the demon causing trouble right here in Sunnydale?" They all kept yelling. After that the vampire decided it was hopeless, and decided to take matters into his own hands. He left, and the others just kept on fighting without even noticing he was gone.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
Lindsey walked into his boss's office to report to him. His boss was sitting behind his desk drinking from a paper cup. His cheek had turned purple from where he had been hit.   
"It's been planted, sir." he told Holland.  
"Wonderful, Lindsey. When's show time?"  
"One hour. He won't know what hit him, Mr. Manners." he told his boss.  
"No he won't. I get to kill three birds with one large stone. No one punches me and lives." Holland said rubbing his purple cheek. His eyes mirrored true anger, fury, and hate as he crushed the now empty paper cup in his hand.  
  
  
Buffy and Angel stood in the center of the room circling each other. Angel, in full vamp face, said, "That's it Buffy. I grow tired of this. I'm gonna kill you!"  
"You think I can't kill you? You're not Angel, you're just a damn demon!" They charged each other, Buffy swung her blade across his chest, ripping his shirt and causing blood to spurt out of the wound. Angelus howled in pain then ducked one of the Slayer's swings of her sword at his head. He then slammed into her rib cage so hard it knocked the wind out of her, and almost cracked it. Buffy managed to get on her side, then lunged out with a side kick that would have smashed the demon's nose, but Angelus caught her foot, and spun it, causing her whole body to spin sideways in midair. Her sword landed all the way across the room. Buffy's head hit hard on the title floor, so hard that it took all of her inner strength not to let the blackness of unconsciousness engulf her. With one last burst of adrenaline Buffy charged him. However, Angelus trapped her in a powerful bear hug, and thought about squeezing the life out of her, but he slammed her hard to the floor instead. After that Angelus wrapped his big vampiricly strong hands around Buffy's neck, and twisted. It broke with a sickening crack that brought an even sicker smile to the vampire's face.   
Buffy lay there motionless and stone dead.  
"A job well done, Angelus!" Dr. Stallworth cried over the mike in the observation tower.   
"What do we do now boss?" Two of his guards asked. The doctor turned to them, and in that moment realized that Nadine was too important to him, that he needed her, and that he couldn't when came right down to it do the right thing. So he said "kill him."  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
I can't believe I'm doing this Spike thought as he approached the Dive-in. Fangs and I have been buds since the Civil War started! They had done everything together, killed, maimed, murdered, tortured, everything! But hey, maybe this would get him an extra bag of pig's blood, and maybe even some brownie points with the Slayer. It's not like he could hunt on his own any more without being in excruciating pain. Hell, he couldn't even defend himself, so it's not like if Buffy wanted him dust he'd be in any position to stop her other than running away. As far as Sharp Fangs went, hey, Spike was a vampire after all, and you never could trust vampires.  
"Spike! What you doing back so soon mate, anything I can do for ya?" Sharp Fangs asked, going up to his old friend.  
"Why mate there is," Spike said slipping a stake from the sleeve of his coat. "You can die." he said holding up the stake.  
"What! You gotta be burning me with a cross! William The Bloody is gonna dust me, how can you even say that!"   
"Look, mate," Spike said, holding his ground, "don't make this any harder on me then it already is."  
"We're not gonna fight. Put that away." Sharp Fangs said with a wave of his hand. Spike stood still fury burning in his eyes. "You're serious." Fangs said looking at him, "You're working for the Slayer. What a pity, mate" he said backing away from Spike. "'Cause now I'll have to kill ya."  
"Stay out of this boys" the vampire said to his men, "and hand me the mace." His men stepped back giving them plenty of room, and one of them handed him his mace, a big ball on a chain with spikes coming out of it. Should have brought a battle-axe, Spike thought as he prepared to fight.  
They both vamped out and charged each other. Fangs swung his mace at Spike's head, but Spike ducked and gave him a double fist shot to the chest, causing him to stagger back. The vampire with a chip in his head followed up with a front kicked that nailed Fangs in the chin, making a piece of skin fall off and bleed. "I guess this is it mate." Spike said going to thrust the stake in the demon's heart.  
But at the last second Sharp Fangs caught Spike's arm, the stake an inch from his chest. "Not by a long shot, Spike." He said, spinning him around by the arm and slamming him into the wall. The demon then swung his mace across his opponent's face. Causing many, many, cuts, and a lot of blood. He then kneed Spike in the crotch making him fall to the floor on his stomach.  
Spike, dazed, and still hurting from the deep cuts on his face, and not to mention pain from down below, turned just in time to see his old friend raise his mace above his head about to bash his skull in. Damn! Spike thought as it was about to come crashing down.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
Dr. Stallworth walked into room 14-B with his guards in tow. Angelus stood by Buffy's dead body, still in vampire face, grinning at them, inhuman. "You here to kill me?" he asked the men. "You really think you can? I just took out a Slayer. You think a couple of mortals can kill me?" The demon threw his head back in evil laughter. "I don't think so." he said smirking at them. "Oh, and one more thing" he said glancing at Buffy's body.  
"Surprise!" Buffy cried, doing a handspring, landing in front of the men, and giving them an I-fooled-your-ass-big-time grin.  
Dr. Stallworth's eyes went wide, and his mouth gaped open in shock. "Slayer!" he cried. "What, how, wh-..." he stammered.  
"It's called playing you" Buffy said, standing in a fighting stance. "That wasn't my neck you heard break like a twig. It was Angel's." Angelus nodded, grinning insanely and twisted his head around backwards in demonstration, causing two of Dr. Stallworth's men to vomit on the spot.  
"What's the matter? Never seen The Excorcist?" Angelus asked.  
"What am I going to do now?!" he yelled putting his hands on his head.  
"Gee, I don't know." Buffy said, "I'm thinking Angelus and I are going to kick your men's butts and break out of here."  
"Not about you, you dumb blond, about my wife."  
"Hey!" she cried "I resemble that remark, and what are you talking about?"  
"My wife" he replied, "She's ill. Wolfermen & Heart have the means to cure her, but they would only give it to me if Angelus was evil for good, or dead. I was going to have my men dust him." Angelus burst into hysterical laughter.  
"Wow trading one life for other, how very noble of you. You really are a class act doctor." Buffy said.  
"Shut up, Slayer! You can't possibly know what it's like, watching her waste away in that bed day after day!"   
As they continued to banter back and forth Angelus, because of his vampiric hearing, heard a faint beep, beep, beep, coming from the observation tower. "Um sorry to break up the party, but there's a bomb, and if we all don't get out now we're all gonna get, well except me, pictures of our blown up bodies on the front page of the press."   
They all started running at once, Buffy holding her ribs where they had been cracked earlier as she ran. Just as they all made it out the door of Stallworth Labs it exploded, throwing them 50 or 100 feet, and showering flames and debris everywhere. Buffy landed hard on her stomach, cutting her head. She slowly got to her feet, holding her side with pain. "Angel!" she cried looking around for him. Buffy turned, and he was there in full vampire face, glaring at her with pure hatred in his eyes.  
"Say good night, Slayer!" He said clapping his hand around her throat and choking the life out of her.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
The mace was about to give Spike a 'new look' that the lady vampires like Harmony and Dru would certainly not like. At the last moment he rolled clear of it. The weapon slammed into the floor with a loud crash, making a big hole. Sharp Fangs tried to pull the weapon free, but to no avail. Meanwhile his opponent got to his feet, and while Sharp Fangs was distracted with the mace, gave him a hard swift kick to his face, causing him to fall on his back. The vampire got to his feet fast, but not fast enough because just as he stood, Spike, who had pulled the mace loose from the floor, was coming at him, swinging the mace overhead. Sharp Fangs had no time had no time to react as his weapon slid through his neck separating his head from his body.  
The vampire's lackeys watched in horror as their leader's remains fell to the floor and simultaneously turned to dust. Spike, with quite a few cuts still on his face, turned to them with a what-ya-gonna-do-now? grin.   
"Y-you k-k-killed h-h-him." One of the demons stammered.   
"Why by George I did, didn't I." Spike said laughing.   
"B-b-but who's gonna be our leader?" The same one asked.   
"Don't know," he said turning to leave, "sure as hell not me." he said as he walked out the door. The vampires watched him as he walked down the street, scared to death of the demon called Spike.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
This is it! Buffy thought as Angelus tightened his grip on her neck. No one to bring me back this time. God she silently prayed, please let my mom and all the others know I love them. I wonder where I'll go when I die. Heaven? Hell? My next life? The Ghost Roads? Will I see Kendra? Well, looks like I'm about to find out. At least when I die, Angel and I can be together. God I love him so much. she thought as she stared to weaken under Angelus grip.  
Finally! The demon thought as he continued choking the life out of his soul's lover. I've waited along time to have this Slayer die at my hand. Yeah I let her help me get out of that place, but did she really think I was going to let slip through my fingers again? Buffy made me feel human; that's something a vampire just won't forgive. Finally I will taste the Slayer's b...  
Suddenly Angelus threw his head back, and made a very inhuman sound in pain. Letting go of Buffy's throat the demon put his hands on his head, and continued to scream in pain.  
"Angel," Buffy gasped, struggling for air, holding her sore throat. Angelus kept yelling, then all of a sudden stopped. Angel, who had dropped to his knees while screaming, looked up at her. Buffy knew just by looking into his soulful eyes that the drug had worn off.  
"Buffy?" He asked surprised to see her still in a daze not yet recalling what happened. "What happened? Where are we?" Angel asked, confused.  
"Angel!" Buffy choked out happily, her throat still sore from almost being choked to death.  
As she threw her arms around him, he said "You're hurt." Noticing the wound on her head.  
"It's all right, it'll be ok." Buffy said tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.  
As Angel's daze fell away his memory of the last few hours returned to him, and he began to sob uncontrollably. "Oh God, Buffy!" He cried into her shoulder, "I never meant to....."  
"Shhh," Buffy cut him off. "It wasn't you. It wasn't you." she repeated. The two lovers just sit there in each other's arms, still crying for different reasons, the burning building behind them casting them in firelight.   
  
  
"Come on, Wesley!" Cordelia said, sitting next to him in his car as they drove around L.A. "We're never going to find them! We've been driving for hours! If I hadn't gone and flirted with that guy at the desk, we wouldn't even know the name of Stallworth Labs!"  
"Well, Cordy, it would have been even more useful if you would have gotten an address."  
"What do I look like? I did what I could. How can you expect me to do all the work around here!" Cordelia scoffed at him, and turned to look out the window. "Hey!" She cried, "Look, there it is! You see Wesley," she said turning to him, "If you didn't have to keep running your mouth we would have..." Just then the lab blew up right before their eyes. They both just on stunted for a few moments.  
Finally Wesley spoke up. "Cordelia, if Buffy and Angel were...... Then there's no way they could have... Oh God." Wesley trailed off.  
"Wesley, they're, they're dead!" Cordelia said with tears in her eyes. "Oh God" she said as continued crying. The ex-Watcher put his arm around Cordelia, and said to himself sadly, "I should call Giles in Sunnydale."  
  
  
"Excuse me, Buffy?" Someone said from behind her as she continued to comfort Angel. Buffy looked over her shoulder, and saw it was Dr. Stallworth, his face blacked with soot and cut in a few places as well. "May I speak to you please?" He asked, looking at her.   
She turned back to Angel, and said softy, "I'll be back, ok?" He nodded with tears still in his eyes. Buffy and the doctor walked away, and began talking.  
"Listen, Buffy," he said as they walked and firemen started to arrive. "I'm sorry for everything I've put you two through. I know that doesn't make up for what... what I've done, but my wife she's... she's....very sick. I...."  
"It's alright." Buffy cut him off. "I understand you're scared for yourself, and for her. My friend Willow and I say love makes you do the wacky. So don't be so to hard on yourself."  
"Yes well" he sighed, and turned to her. "I better be going to a hospital, I think I broke my wrist when I jumped from the front of the building." He reached out his good hand to her. "Good luck Buffy Summers."   
She shook it, and said, "You too, doctor, good luck with your wife. I hope she makes it."  
"Thank you." They both turned and went there separate ways.  
  
  
After Steven Stallworth got a cast put on his broken wrist, he once again stood in the doorway to the same hospital room. But he was filled with alarm. A lot of doctors were crowed around his wife's hospital bed. Steven only took this to mean one thing: Nadine's death.  
"No!" he cried, "What's wrong with her?!"  
One of the doctors turned, and said with a smile on his face, "Oh Mr. Stallworth I have good news for you, but you know what? I think I'll let someone else tell you."  
The doctor stepped to the side, and Steven's mouth gaped open. He saw his wife sitting up in bed looking at him with a small And-You-Thought-I-Was-Gonna-Die-On-You grin on her face. "Honey," she said, her voice still cracking weakly. " They say I'm in remission. And pick your jaw up off the floor, it's dirty." She grinned slightly.  
"Oh, Nadine!" Her husband said, running to her and wrapping her in his embrace. They kissed passionately with tears in their eyes. "Thank God you're all right." he said, crying into her shoulder.  
"Of course I'm all right, Honey, but happened to your hand?" Nadine asked, noticing his cast.  
"Don't worry about it, don't worry about it." he told her. "You're ok. That's all that matters to me." As Steven kept crying in his wife's embrace he realized that no matter how grim things looked, no matter how far the chips were down, you never give up. Things always seemed to work out in the end. Steven realized that he didn't have to always work to make it happen, or be the one to save the day, that fate always came through in the end.  
  
  
"What do you mean they made it out of the building!" Holland Manners exploded at Lindsey.  
"Our sources say, Sir, that they saw the Slayer, Dr. Stallworth, and Angel outside the lab when firefighters arrived on the scene."  
"Damit!" Holland yelled. "Oh well," he exclaimed, "Dr. Stallworth may have survived, but we still have the data to save his wife. Destroy the data immediately. Watching her die will be punishment enough."  
"Of course, sir, and as for Buffy and Angel?" he asked.   
"As for Buffy and Angel, Buffy will go back to Sunnydale. She won't be a bother there. As for Angel he may have gotten lucky this time, but next time we meet he'll be dust." Holland said, relishing the thought.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
In Giles's apartment the Scooby Gang kept arguing.   
"I'm Buffy's boyfriend! I should be the one to go help her!" Riley yelled.   
"So what, you think just cause your Buffy's man makes you more qualified to help?" Xander shot back.   
"More so then you. What are you gonna do, get her some clown pants?"   
"Hey!" Anya screamed. "I'll have you know those clown pants where very sexy!"   
"What!"   
"You thought Riley was sexy!" Xander exclaimed angry.   
"Whoops! Shutting up now!" Anya said blushing.   
"Look!" All this about clown pants and who's sexy is getting us nowhere!" Willow cried.   
"Quite right, Willow." Giles said.   
"Now I really think Tara and I should go so we could do the finder's spell-"   
"Oh would you stop with the damn spell already!" Riley cut her off.   
"Hey! You can't talk to Willow like that!" Xander cried. They all started again, the group yelled so loud that no one heard the phone ringing.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
Angel and Buffy now walked side by side on a sidewalk. It was now about four in the morning. An early breeze was blowing about Buffy's blonde hair. Abruptly Angel stopped walking and turned to face her.  
"Listen, I can't express how sorry I am about tonight." Buffy put up a hand to silence him.  
"Stop. Don't blame yourself for this, Angel, please. It wasn't your fault."   
"I should have known better-"  
"There's no way you could have known what they where planning." She cut him off.   
"The things the demon said....." Angel trailed off.   
"I'll admit," Buffy said looking into his eyes. "Angelus opened some flood gates I didn't want to deal with, but it was the demon, Angel, not you, understand?"  
He nodded. "I know, Buffy, you're right, but it's still hard having the memories of what he did to you."   
"I know, and Angel?"   
"Yeah?" he asked.   
"You know you mean more to me then Riley ever will, right?" What Angelus said in the lab floating through her mind. "I mean I know I'll never love him the way I love you, I've pretty much given up on getting over you completely."  
"Ditto, Buffy" he said as he pushed a stay hair out her face that was blowing in the wind. "No how matter many miles are between us I'll always love you." Longing was mirrored in both their eyes, their faces moving closer, their lips moving ever so slowly, each wanting the feel of the other's lips when suddenly Buffy stopped, their lips mere inches apart.  
"But we can't go there, we've tried. It just.... It doesn't work."  
"Right" Angel agreed. They both had tears in their eyes as they embraced. Angel had never felt so complete and tormented at the same time. He was complete because he had Buffy in his arms once again. He was tormented because it reminded him of one day they had together. The day she didn't even remember. The day he was human. Angel had been attacked by a Mora demon. It had turned him human, and he had spent the whole day with Buffy. But when he found out that if he stayed mortal Buffy would die, he asked the oracles to give him back a day. They had agreed, and Angel was the only who carried the memory of that day. It was moments like this that having memory killed him.  
"God, I love you Angel." Buffy said, taking him out of his thoughts.  
"I love you too," he replied, "and I always will." They let go of each other's embrace, both with some tears still in their eyes.  
"Well the sun'll be up soon, and you should get inside, or else you know you'll burst into flames." He nodded. "And I should be getting back to Sunnydale, Giles is probably worried sick."   
"Yeah." Angel said.  
"Well," Buffy exclaimed, "aside from being in a fight to death and having to jump from a exploding building it was good to see you."  
"Same here" he said.  
"Goodbye Angel."  
"Goodbye Buffy." They both walked down different ends of the street, each wishing they didn't have to leave the other.  
  
  
Sunnydale  
  
Giles stood on his coffee table, and whistled loudly. "Quiet!" He screamed, everyone turned to look at him. "Look, none of this is helping Buffy, so I have an idea. Let's all go help her."  
"Hey good idea! Why didn't I think of that." someone said. Giles got off the table, and they all went to the door. The Watcher opened it.   
"Spike!" they all cried. "What the hell happened to you?"  
"You look like you got hit with a Mack truck." Xander said noticing the cuts on Spike's face.  
"I dusted Sharp Fangs, and it wasn't bloody easy. Also I expect an extra bag of pig blood." he said coming into the room and pointing at Giles.  
"Of course." Just as he was about to close the door someone walked up.   
"Buffy!" everyone cried.   
"Hey, what's everyone doing?"  
"Oh, we were just going to go see if we could help in L.A." her Watcher explained. "What happened? Are you alright?"  
"Fine. A few cuts here and there, and some hurt ribs, but all in all I should be fine."  
"Is Angel alright? Did you do it with him? Is he evil and going to kill us all?" Anya babbled.   
"He's fine, Anya." Buffy replied.   
"Are you sure you're ok?" Riley asked, coming up to her and hugging her. She returned his embrace.  
"Yeah, fine." Buffy said letting go of him. "Listen guys, I'm really tired, it's been a long night."  
"Indeed, Buffy, for all of us." Giles said.   
"But I'll swing by when I wake up, we'll figure out what to do about Sharp Fangs..."  
"Oh no need Buffy, Spike killed him."  
"Really? Wow, thanks, Spike." He waved as if to say 'no big deal.' "Well I'm going to go, I'll see you at home, Will?" Willow nodded, and the Slayer left the apartment.  
  
  
Los Angeles  
  
"I can't believe they're gone!" Cordelia sobbed on her sofa.   
"It is quite shocking." Wesley agreed, sitting next to her. "And I couldn't reach Giles in Sunnydale, he'll be crushed I imagine."   
Just then the door opened, and Angel walked in. "Angel!" They both cried in shock, and Cordelia ran up, and hugged him. "Oh my God!" She exclaimed. "You're alive, well as a vampire gets anyway. Wait - are you evil?" she asked, backing away from him.  
"No, the drug they gave me wore off. I'm fine."  
"And Buffy?" Wesley asked.   
"She's fine" Angel said, "She's on her way back to Sunnydale right now."  
"How did you-" Cordelia began, but Angel cut her off.  
"Look guys, it's been a long night, I'm going to go to bed, and I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. Fair?" They both nodded.  
  
  
As Buffy and Angel climbed into bed that night they both realized that, no matter what happened, no matter where their travels took them in life, no matter who they might date, they would never get over each other. They were, and always would be, a part of each other. Wherever they were, whatever they did, Buffy and Angel would always have a piece of one another. What ever the future held for them, the past Angel and Buffy shared would never die. 


End file.
